Rail issues lead to cutbacks by Canadian forest products company

Logo of forest products company Canfor

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Forest products company Canfor will cut production at sawmills in Western Canada because of “extreme supply chain challenges” relating to rail service, the news site Business in Vancouver reports. Subsidiary Canfor Pulp Produces had previously announced it would continue to curtail production at its plant in Taylor, B.C., for at least […]

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Safety board issues findings and recommendations after probe of fatal CP runaway (Updated)

Locomotive surrounded by cars from derailment

CALGARY, Alberta — The degradation of air brakes in extreme cold, the limited effectiveness of current train brake tests, and inadequate training and experience of supervisory personnel contributed to the 2019 Canadian Pacific grain train runaway and derailment that killed three crew members in British Columbia’s Kicking Horse Pass. That’s the conclusion of the Transportation […]

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Lionel LionChief 2.0 Baby K4 review

Lionel LionChief 2.0 Baby K4

The Lionel LionChief 2.0 Baby K4 is a modern O gauge steam engine that represents the Pennsylvania RR’s proud Pacific type. The model is simply detailed with lots of operating features including a fan-driven smoke unit, lighted flickering firebox, crew figures, and more! It runs well and is equally at home pulling a set of […]

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U.S. rail traffic remains below 2021 levels

Weekly table showing U.S. rail traffic by commodity, plus intermodal totals

WASHINGTON — U.S. weekly rail traffic remains below 2021 levels in the latest statistics released by the Association of American Railroads. For the week ending March 26, total rail traffic was 504,817 carloads and intermodal units. That is down 3.2% compared to the same week in 2021, and a greater drop than the 2.7% decrease […]

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Watering hogs on the UP

Union Pacific Railroad California Livestock Special

A triple-headed shower wets down the hogs riding in Union Pacific triple-deck cars at Dry Lake, Nev., on a hot July day in 1977. The train is the California Livestock Special, bound for Los Angeles. Steve Patterson photo […]

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Will autonomous trucks put the iron horse out to pasture? – Analysis

There’s no question that autonomous trucks pose a threat to the railroad industry. They’re not here quite yet, but TuSimple is proving the concept with driverless rigs that are making revenue runs on highways in the Southwest. And other companies are working to develop battery-electric trucks. If proven feasible and deployed in sufficient numbers, driverless […]

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Grain shippers complain about delays on BNSF, NS, and UP

Freight train passing grain elevator

WASHINGTON — The trade group representing grain producers says severe delays on BNSF Railway, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific have forced its members to shut down flour mills as well as feed mills that produce food for livestock. The National Grain and Feed Association outlined the rail service problems in a letter posted to the […]

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Russia-Ukraine war likely to bolster U.S. coal exports: Analysis

Two yellow locomotives with trains of coal hoppers

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — U.S. railroads are hauling more coal this year, and coal analysts say international demand is likely to strengthen U.S. coal exports in part to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. The Energy Information Administration’s latest outlook expects U.S. coal production to rise 4% in 2022 to 604 million short tons. It anticipates the […]

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Manitoba announces plan for rail park at inland port

Aerial illustration of rail park near Winnipeg

WINNIPEG, Manitoba — The Province of Manitoba has announced an agreement with a major real estate developer for a 665-acre, rail-served industrial park as part of an existing inland port. Focus Equities Inc. will build the CentrePort Canada Rail Park as part of the 20,000-acre CentrePort Canada in the Rural Municipality of Rosser, northwest of […]

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